The debate concerning the nature of the relationship between race and intelligence has been highly contested by psychologists for many years. With the emergence of genetic research in recent times, some clarity has been provided, however, many unanswered questions still remain. This essay discusses the implications of IQ test scores and the potentially misleading information they generate when administered to non-Western individuals. Although it is argued that race is a dynamic social construct and therefore not scientifically sound, this essay will explain why considering context-specific information about an individual is vital when assessing their intelligence due to the substantial roles environmental factors play in the learning process. In fact, internal genetic factors and external environmental factors both contribute to the development of intelligence. As a result of this, IQ is regarded as a fluid concept, capable of both positive and negative change. Lastly, this essay examines intelligence and socioeconomic success, in order to determine whether there is any significant relationship between the two. Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have shown the presence of wealth does not cause a higher IQ, however, having a higher IQ does appear to lead to greater socioeconomic success. It is evident that the scientific community has yet to agree upon a universally viable explanation of the interactions between race and intelligence.
A psychosocial phenomenon known as ‘race’ has the power to bind a group of people together and determine how they are expected to behave (Kendig, 2011). Our behaviour is determined by another phenomenon known as ‘intelligence’ (Colom, Karama, Jung, & Haier, 2010). Since these are both such ...
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...and Brain Sciences, 3, 353-354.
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In his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell makes the claim that IQ does not have an accurate correlation to success after a certain point. Specifically, he says, “The relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point. Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.” IQ tests and other talent assessments have long been used to enroll students in gifted education initiatives. It has been argued that not only are IQ tests inaccurate, but gifted programs are detrimental to a child’s education. While I concede that IQ tests are not the best way to determine intelligence, I still insist that gifted programs are beneficial for children that show a special aptitude in different school subjects. Without advanced programs to challenge children with unique abilities, these students are unable to reach their full potential.
The Bell Curve is a book originally published in 1994. It was written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray to explain the variations of intelligence in American Society. They accomplished this by using statistical analysis, for the purpose of raising warnings regarding the consequences of the intelligence gap. This was also made to propose a national social policy with the goal of mitigating bad consequences that have been attributed to this intelligence gap. Much of the information is widely considered controversial. An example of this is the low African-American scores compared to whites and Asians, and genetic factors in intelligence abilities. The introduction of the book starts with a brief history of intelligence theory and recent developments in intelligence thought and testing. The author creates six assumptions that has to do with the validity of the “classical” cognitive testing techniques.
... pressure for someone to live up to. Each person has his or her own level of understanding, and there are no proven statistics that show a connection between race and intelligence.
General intelligence tends to relate to various degrees with each other (Cohen 2012). An example of this is that if an individual is good in math, they may also be good in spelling. In this weeks reading we reviewed several different models of measurement of intelligence. In regard to these theories and general intelligence (g), the theories are various but have commonality and overlap. The Spearman's two-factor theory is if a test has high correlation with other test than the measurement of g is highly saturated (Cohen, 2012). The greater the importance of g on a test, the better the test is believed to predict intelligence
Intelligence tests have been developed by scientists as a tool to categorize army recruits or analyze school children. But still discussing what intelligence is, academics have a difficult time defining what intelligence tests should measure. According to the American researcher Thorndike, intelligence is only that what intelligence tests claim it is (Comer, Gould, & Furnham, 2013). Thus, depending on what is being researched in the test and depending on the scientist’s definition of intelligence the meaning of the word intelligence may vary a lot. This essay will discuss what intelligence is in order to be able to understand the intelligence theories and aims of intelligence tests.
Today, this undefined ability has become one of the most controversial topics in psychology. Psychological researchers have resisted racism by denying the existence of innate differences between races, such as intelligence. Many argue that this debate has dire consequences for both the scientific and psychological fields and needs to be based on objective empirical evidence versus political agendas. "Blacks are born stupid, even dumber than Poles,"…"Jews are smart,"…"Country hicks are easily taken by city
In this world, there are many different individuals who are not only different in demographics but also different neurologically. Due to an immense amount of people it is important to first understand each individual, in order, to better understand them and to help them when it comes to certain areas such as education, the work force, and etc…. For this reason psychologists have aimed to further understand individuals through the use of psychological assessments. This paper aims to examine a particular assessment tool, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Fifth Edition), which measures both intelligence and cognitive abilities (Roid, 2003). This assessment is usually administered by psychologists and the scores are most often used to determine placement in academics and services allotted to children and adolescents (despite their compatibility for adults) (Wilson & Gilmore, 2012). Furthermore before the investigation dives into the particulars of the test, such as its strengths and weakness’, it is best to first learn more about the intelligence scales general characteristics.
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While this assumption is accepted by a majority of geneticists and behavioral scientists, there is great disagreement on the degree of influence each contributes. Arguments for environmental influences are compelling; at the same time there is growing evidence that genetic influence on intelligence is significant and substantial (Eyesenck, 1998; Mackintosh, 1998; Plomin, 1994; Steen, 1996). The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: "How is intelligence influenced by heredity and environment?"
There are countless studies on whether intelligence is an inherited trait or if it is influenced by environmental factors. A study was conducted with adopted children and non-adopted children to see if a conclusion can be made based on the influence of hereditary and environmental intellectual variation (Leahy). The study was conducted with strict standards to make it valid. For example, the adopted children that were studied were young; they also were brought up in similar backgrounds as the control children. Parents’ occupation was also similar, as this would affect the results if the parents had varying occupations (Leahy). The results from this study showed that:
Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2006). g and the measurement of multiple intelligences: A response to Gardner. Intelligence, 34(5), 507-510.
The study of IQ and how it operates in the education field has been argued through various theories. Theorist such as Howard Garner, R...
Spinath, F., Spinath, B., & Plomin, R. (2008). The nature and nurture of intelligence and motivation in the origins of sex differences in elementary school achievement. European Journal of Personality, 22(3), 211-219
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...